Category: Family

Stories from the hearth

Goin’ Down the Road

Much activity since my last big post in March: house-hunting all around northern California, kitchen counters installed (complete with defective sink that spits boiling water droplets back into one’s face), nerve ablations in my twisty spine, massive deaccessioning of long-loved belongings, a garage sale, pottery classes, yet more hours in the dentist’s and periodontist’s chairs, elementary school field trips, the sudden demise of my two-year-old icebox and also of both toilets, and the puzzling together […]

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Gently Down the Stream

I can’t say life is a placid current, floating me tenderly along as I relax and absorb the wonder of the ever-shifting landscapes around me. No, not that. This is like that Class-4 and -5 whitewater trip I took in the wilds of Quebec province, fast and hazardous. We were so busy trying not to smash into rocks or inhale water that there was no time even to notice our surroundings. Things can’t stay this […]

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North Country

A couple weekends ago we explored Sonoma County, scoping it out as a possible place to relocate. Unfortunately, it’s further from Chico than where I am now, and that upsets little Em. It’s also pretty damned expensive. But we’ll see. And last week Molly, Ember and I headed north again for two nights, and visited the ocean during a break in the rain. Lots of pretty country around. I know there are some fabulous people […]

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The Bright Side of Life

I feel petty writing about my own small life when so many are thrashing through profound hardship. The world is full of woe, with new horrors every day. Just among my closest friends there’s: Just realize that, though my site’s tagline is “It’s all about me,” I’ve never for a second believed that, and underlying my self-absorbed posts is profound sadness about the plights of others, and not just my own. But I’ll keep going […]

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